The Government's anti-obesity strategy has come under attack after Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, signed partnerships with private junk food firms.

Health advisers have attacked the programme, Change4Life, which is now sponsored and promoted by companies including Nestlé, Rowntree, PepsiCo and Asda. Professors Tim Lang and Geof Rayner wrote in the British Medical Journal that the policy risks being a "smokescreen" for "publicly endorsed marketing". The strategy could become "collusion between the state and corporations to hoodwink consumers".

A spokesperson for the Department for Health said: "Our approach to public health follows a model that means that we will employ a range of approaches."